Day 3 pm

SAN ANTONIO DE PICHINCHA, Ecuador — day 3 pm

 One of things you do while in Quito is to visit the Equator. I was prepared to be underwhelmed but was surprised.

Our first stop was El Acoratene de los Cayambis. It is were the actual center of the equator is. It is just a two-minute drive from the Middle of the World, and is a small, privately owned site called Inti-ñan, there is a sign on a gate saying that its location is “calculated with GPS” to be exactly at 0 latitude.

We had an English speaking tour guide. ( actually not necessary for me but AL needed it). The park was like a little Plymouth Plantation with small huts built that showed how the indigenous people lived. I forgot what they were called but Quito is named after them. They were know for shrinking heads and we were shown the process. The practice was stopped in 1950 because too many people wanted them as souvenirs. The people came to this area because they worshiped the sun and Quito is high up and the center of the earth. They had figured out that this was the middle of the earth. They used sun dials. See if you can follow this........on a sun dial, at the solstice the shadow is longest at twelve PM than any other time of the year. On the equinox the sun dial does not cast any shadow at 12 PM for 3 minutes. The equator is the only place in the world were the shadow is not cast on that day. Don't believe me? Google it.

 It is easier to balance an egg at the Equator. Paradoxically it is harder for a person to maintain his balance. If you close your eyes and walk heel to toe, arms extended, you'll wobble. We tried both and it is true.

The most amazing thing we saw was when the guide filled a basin of water and moved to the line that was the equator. She pulled the plug and the water drained straight down. She took the basin and moved it 5 feet north ......now in the northern hemisphere.....filled the basin with water, pulled the plug and the water spiraled counter clockwise down the drain. She then moved the basin back over the equator line five feet to the Southern Hemisphere, Filled I it with water, pulled the plug and the water spiraled clockwise. Five feet made that Mitch of a difference.....I was impressed.